Apparatus for supplying cigarettes to cigarette packing machines



Oct. 13, 1964 D. W. MQLINS ETAL APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES TO CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES l5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 12, 1962 13, 1964 D. w. MOLINS ETAL 3,

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES T0 CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 15 Sheets-Sheet 2 avail/1M5" Mmm as 1 I if ML Oct. 13', 1964 p, w. MOLINS ETAL APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES TO CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 15 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 13, 1964 D. w. MOLINS ETAL 3,

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES T0 CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 15 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 13, 1964 w. MOLINS ETAL 3,152,680

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES TO CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES 15 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 12, 1962 Oct. 13, 1964 w. MOLINS ETAL 3,152,680

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES T0 CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 15 Sheets-Sheet 6 Oct. 13, 1964 p, w. MOLINS ETAL 3,152,680

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES TO CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES 15 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Feb. 12, 1962 I i, .w FIE.

Oct. 13, 1964 D. w. MOLINS ETAL 3,152,630

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES TO CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES l5 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Feb. 12, 1962 Oct. 13, 1964 w. MOLINS ETAL 3,152,680

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES T0 CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 9 D. w. MOLINS ETAL 3,152,680

15 Sheets-Shem l0 Tit I Q R g @m A I I l .llllll Q E E Oct. 13, 1964 APPARATUS FOR SUPBLYING CIGARETTES To CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 Oct. 13, 1964 D, w. MOLINS ETAL 3,152,630

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES T0 CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 15 Sheets-Sheet 11 APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES TO CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES 15 Sheets-Sheet 12 Filed Feb. 12, 1962 Oct. 13, 1964 I w. MOLlNS T 3,152,680

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTE-S T0 CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 15 Sheets-Sheet 13 Oct. 13, 1964 0. w. MOLINS ETAL. 3,152,630

- APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES TO CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 15 Sheets-Sheet 14 1964' D. w. MOLINS ETAL 3,

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES TO CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Feb. 12, 1962 15 Sheets-Sheet 15 .Ti,l|!lv \rniLlt w L y 1 7 7 m f 4\ fi -/I m w l Q 1 k r %J ,/////////////V United States Patent 3,152,680 APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES T0 CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Desmond Walter Molins, Roydon Henry Gurney Raine,

and Albert George Jefierys, Deptford, London, England, assignors to Molins Machine Company Limited, London, England, a British company Filed Feb. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 172,588 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb. 16, 1961, 5,826/61 9 Claims. (Cl. 198-40) This invention concerns apparatus for supplying oigarettes to cigarette packing machines.

It is common to replenish the hoppers of cigarette machines by discharging the contents of containers, known in the trade as trays, into the hoppers when the quantity of cigarettes in a hopper falls below a desirable minimum.

Hitherto apparatus for this purpose has operated by discharging the contents of the trays into the hopper by tipping a tray over, or by removing the bottom of the tray which is made slidable for this purpose. These methods sometimes cause the cigarettes to be injured or at least an undesirable amount of tobacco fragments may be lost from the cigarettes. It (is desired to supply a hopper with cigarettes without avoidable disturbance or injury to the cigarettes.

One form of tray for which the apparatus is suitable is of U-shape, consisting of a flat horizontal base with upstanding end walls.

According to the invention there is provided apparatus for supplying cigarettes to the hopper of a cigarette packing machine comprising a lower track along which loaded trays are movable on a line parallel to the axes of the cigarettes in the tray and means for moving the trays in succession along the track, an elevator at the end of the track positioned to receive and support a tray from the track and said means also operating to move the leading tray from the track to the elevator, operating devices to move the elevator up and down, these devices operating first to raise the leading tray to a cigarette discharging position, a pusher plate and operating devices therefor to move the plate through the tray to remove a stack of cigarettes therefrom, a receiving surface to receive the stack as it is removed from the tray by the pusher plate and means for positioning this surface to lie above the hopper in alignment therewith and thereafter to remove this surface from stack supporting position to permit the stack to pass into the hopper and means for moving the empty tray away from the stack removing position, whereafter the elevator operating devices move the elevator down to the tray receiving posi' tion.

The receiving surface may comprise a series of trap doors constituted by pivoted plates and means may be provided for operating the plates so that they close to form the stack receiving surface and then open to remove said surface from the stack supporting position to permit the cigarettes to pass through the openings between the plates and onto the cigarettes in the hopper. The means for operating the plates may be actuated by pusher plate movements.

Preferably the arrangement is such that the leading ends of the lowest cigarettes of the batch reach a position a little beyond the edges of the plates nearer to the tray before the plates become completely closed, as in this way there is no risk of the ends of the cigarettes becoming damaged by contact with plate edges, which, in the closed position, are on the same level as the under surfaces of the cigarettes. The plates then close to the horizontal position to form the stack receiving surface and support the cigarettes and completion of the pusher move- 3,152,688 Patented Get. 13, 1964 ment opens the plates again to permit the cigarettes to pass into the hopper.

Where the shape of the hopper requires it there may be a stationary platform between the front edge of the tray at the stack removing position and the receiving surface, over which the stack can slide during the pusher plate movement.

Trays may be supported on the tracks by being suspended therefrom, the trays having projections or cars on the end walls, for example, at the top of the walls, adapted to engage rails which constitute the tracks and support the trays.

Tray movement along the tracks may be effected by pawls. In the case of the lower track which, for example, consists of a pair of rails, the pawls may be attached to a reciprocable plate or bridge which spans the rails and has pawls at each side which engage the trays and move them forward at each forward stroke of the plate.

An empty tray may be initially moved along the upper track, for example a pair of rails similar to those of the lower track, by pawls attached to the pusher plate. Further movement of an empty tray may be effected by a device of similar construction to the reciprocable plate used on the lower track. This device may be manually operated.

With trays of the kind referred to above the pusher plate may reciprocate in a straight line as an empty tray can pass by the plate but other movements may be given to the pusher plate where necessary.

At the receiving surface the stack may be surrounded by walls comprising the pusher plate, a fixed plate opposite to it and two side walls in order to preserve the shape of the stack. These walls, or some of them, may be made of transparent material.

Control devices, for example, photo-electric devices, may be provided to control operation of the apparatus to cause cigarettes to be delivered into the hopper at the earliest desirable moment to reduce the fall of the cigarettes from the stack supporting position to a minimum and the remainder of the apparatus may be operated following the cigarette delivery to supply fresh loaded trays to the discharge position and to remove empty trays therefrom. Operation of the various moving parts of the apparatus in the proper sequence may be determined by switches which are operated by each moving part as the latter reaches an end of its movement, the corresponding switch being arranged to couple driving devices to the next part to move, for example, by means of magnetic clutches.

The plates which constitute the trap doors may be oscillated while cigarettes are passed down into the hopper, the plates being spring-loaded so that they can give if they meet with undue resistance as cigarettes pass through them so as not to injure any cigarettes. When the cigarettes have all passed through the plates, the latter can swing through a larger arc and serve to level the cigarettes at the top of the stack.

In another construction, the receiving surface may comprise a flat plate movable into the stack receiving position and retractable therefrom when the stack is to pass into the hopper. The plate movement may be controlled by cams so that as the plate moves to the stack receiving position it moves substantially horizontally but on its return movement it moves for a part of the Way substantially horizontally and then dips so that the edge of the plate nearer the hopper moves down sharply and the plate is withdrawn sharply so that the stack can pass into the hopper without appreciable disturbance by the moving plate.

Apparatus according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a small scale side elevation of the apparatus,

FIGURE 2 is a view looking at the right-hand end of FIGURE 1 showing only the disposition of trays in the apparatus,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view, shown broken, of a device for feeding full trays along a track,

FIGURE 4 is an elevation of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is a view looking at the left-hand end of FIGURE 1 showing details of an elevator,

FIGURE 6 is a rear view of a pusher plate and associated devices, the plate being shown broken,

FIGURE 7 is a local view looking in the direction of the arrow A of FIGURE 1 and is a front elevation of a trap door device which can support a stack of cigarettes and then open to permit the stack to pass into a hopper,

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of FIGURE 7,

FIGURE 8A is a section on line 8A8A of FIG- URE 8,

FIGURE 9 is a side elevation of the right-hand of FIGURE 7,

FIGURE 10 is an end view of a device for moving empty trays along a track,

FIGURE 11 is a side elevation of FIGURE 10,

FIGURE 12 is a diagram of devices for operating a reversing switch,

FIGURE 13 is a local view of a part of the main frame showing the co-operation of the device shown in FIGURE 4 with certain parts attached to the frame,

FIGURE 14 shows a fragment of the left-hand end of FIGURE 1 illustrating an improved form of support for a stack of cigarettes,

FIGURE 15 shows the operating devices for the support shown in FIGURE 14 in full detail and drawn to a larger scale,

FIGURE 16 is a View of FIGURE 15 looking in the direction of the arrow B, showing one side of the structure, the other side being substantially symmetrical, and

FIGURE 17 shows details omitted from FIGURE 15 for clearness.

Referring to FIGURE 1, on a main frame 1 there are fixed a lower track 2 and an upper track 3. T rays T filled with cigarettes are put on the track 2 and moved in the direction of the arrow as explained below. Eventually a tray arrives in position on an elevator 4 and is then carried upward to the level of the track 3 and is then at the cigarette discharging position. After a tray has been emptied it is moved to the right along track 3 and taken otf by an attendant.

Trays are fed along track 2 by pawls such as the pawl 5, a number of such pawls being fitted on either side of a plate or bridge 6 (shown in detail in FIGURES 3 and 4), which spans a pair of rails 2A and 2B constituting the track 2, as shown in FIGURE 2. The trays are suspended from the rails by ears 22.

The elevator 4 (shown in detail in FIGURE 5 is raised and lowered by a screw 7 having a bevel gear wheel 8 at its lower end, which is driven alternately in opposite directions, as will be seen later. The elevator is guided by a rod 9 and other parts which will be mentioned when FIGURE 5 is described.

The bridge 6 is attached to a nut III which is mounted on a screw 11, the latter being rotated alternately in opposite directions.

A stack of cigarettes in a tray at the discharging position is pushed out of the tray over a fixed surface 17 by a pusher plate 12 (shown in detail in FIGURE 6) which is fixed to an arm extending from a slide 13 which slides on a guide rod 14, as best seen in FIGURE 6 where the arm is marked 38. Attached to the guide 13 is a nut 15 which is mounted on a screw 16 which can also be driven alternately in opposite directions.

The cigarette stack after passing over the surface 17 is deposited on a receiving surface which can be formed by plates 18 which can be moved from the vertical position shown in FIGURE 1, where they are not in stack supporting position, to a horizontal position where they provide a continuous surface (the receiving surface), the plates operating after the manner of trap doors. The surface 17 and that afforded by the plates 18 when horizontal are closed in by two side walls, as 19, and a front wall 20. When the batch is on the plates 18 there is a fourth wall constituted by the pusher plate 12 which remains stationary for some time. These four walls which form a compartment, serving to preserve the shape of the stack, are preferably of transparent material. It will be seen from FIGURE 1 that when the stack of cigarettes is adjacent the wall 20 it is over a hopper H of a cigarette packing machine and is in fact aligned therewith on all four sides and the stack is safely held inside the compartment.

At 21 there is a device, shown in detail in FIGURES 10 and 11, whereby empty trays may be moved along the upper track 3 in the direction of the arrow so that they are brought within reach of an attendant who can remove them from the track.

Further details shown on FIGURE 1 will be described later on when the driving arrangements and switches are being considered.

Referring now also to FIGURES 3 and 4, the tray feeding device comprises the bridge 6 previously mentioned, which is reciprocated on guides 23 attached to the frame I, see FIGURES 1 and 13. At each side of the bridge are the pawls 5 which engage the ears 22 of the trays so that at each stroke of the bridge the trays are fed forward. The stroke is a little longer than a tray length as considered parallel to the cigarettes within the tray so that trays are moved in stages as each successive pawl engages a tray whose last movement was caused by a preceding pawl. At the right-hand end, FIGURE 4, of the bridge there are other feeding pawls 29 of slightly different shape. The driving ends of these pawls have a slope on the underside so that a tray can be manually pushed along the track by lifting these pawls which thereafter drop down and act in the same manner as pawls 5. In addition to the feeding pawls 5, there are pivoted stop pawls 2.4 and pivoted levers 25 which also act as feeding pawls as well as performing other functions, as will now be described with reference to FIGURE 13. When a tray has been moved as far as possible by the pawls 5 it reaches the neighborhood of stop pawls 26, FIGURE 13, which are pivoted to the main frame I as shown. These stop pawls 26 are provided to ensure that an operator putting fresh trays on track 2 cannot push the leading tray beyond the stop pawls 26.

The bridge 6 in FIGURE 13 is at the end of its feeding stroke but when the bridge is farther to the right the pawls 24 move down sloping tongues 27 of stop pawls 26 and can then act in the same manner as the pawls 26 to prevent trays manually pushed along track 2 from going too far.

As previously stated, the stroke of the bride is a little longer than the tray length and it will be seen that when the bridge goes to the right, tongues 28 on the end of the levers 25 will run under the tongues 27 and will raise the stop pawls 26 so that a tray can pass by the stop pawls as the bridge makes the next feeding stroke. Trays fed along by the pawls 5 make their final movement under the action of teeth 25A on the end of the levers 25.

As mentioned in the description of FIGURE 1, the bridge 6 is fixed to a nut 10 so that each time the screw reverses its direction of rotation the bridge is moved in an opposite direction. In order to control the bridge, which is of considerable width, so that it moves to and fro without skewing or side play, it has small toothed pinions 60 at each side which roll on racks 61. A pinion and rack is shown in FIGURE 1 to a small scale but the idea is illustrated better in FIGURES and 11 where a similar bridge is used for moving empty trays.

The reciprocation of the bridge will cause any gaps between trays, due to random placing of filled trays on the track, to close up.

The final stroke given to a tray by the pawls 25A moves the tray into position above the elevator 4 which is slightly below the level of the tray bottom to provide a little clearance for the oncoming tray. Meanwhile the tray is held by short extensions of the track rails and is lifted off them by the rising elevator. The construction of the elevator will now be described in more detail with reference to FIGURE 5. As briefly described earlier with reference to FIGURE 1, the elevator is raised and lowered by the screw 7 having a bevel gear wheel 8 at its base which mates with another bevel gear wheel 9A, shown on FIGURE 1. A nut 30 travels on the screw and this is housed in a casting 31 which is shaped to provide an arm 32 having fiat faces 33 constituting the tray supporting platform. The arm is guided in its movements by the vertical rod 9 on which a long sleeve 34, which is part of the casting 31, travels. The other end of the arm 32is guided by a guide 35.

The trays are made as light as possible for convenience and there is a tendency for the limbs to flex somewhat and it is necessary to correct any distortion in a tray travelling up with the elevator. For this purpose rollers 36 are provided at each side of the vertical tray path and the limbs of the tray ride on these and are thus guided in a vertical path. A rising tray eventually slides by detent springs 37, fixed to the frame 1, and the ears 22 of the tray latch over these springs so that the tray is held in the up position as the elevator moves down again. When the tray is in the up position and supported by the detent springs it is at the stack removing or discharging position previously referred to and the stack of cigarettes in the tray is removed therefrom, as will now be described, mainly with reference to FIGURE 6. In this figure the parts 13, 14, and 16, briefly referred to in the description of FIGURE 1, are shown in greater detail and the arm 38 can be as the support of the pusher plate 12. The free end of the arm is guided by a roller 39 which travels in a guide 40 fixed to the main frame 1 and thus the pusher plate reciprocates in a straight line moving in either direction according to the direction of rotation of the screw 16. Attached to the arm 38 are two rollers 41 which move on the interior of the side walls of the tray being dealt with and straighten them if necessary, for reasons given previously, so that the pusher plate can move through the tray without hindrance, for naturally the plate is a moderately close fit in the tray, sufliciently so to ensure that all the cigarettes are ejected when the pusher plate moves through the tray.

At each side of the pusher plate is a vertical rod 42 rotatable in bearings at the top and bottom of the plate. Pawls 43 on these rods are tripped back as the plate moves through a tray and serve to drag back an empty tray, on the return stroke of the pusher, for some distance until it is in a position on the rails 3A and 33 at which it can be engaged by the tray puller 21, FIGURE 1, which is described in detail later with reference to FIGURES 10 and 11.

As stated in the description of FIGURE 1, the stack of cigarettes moved out of the tray by the pusher plate 12 passes over a stationary surface 17 and is deposited on a receiving surface formed by a number of pivoted plates 18 which can be swung to a horizontal or stack supporting position to provide the receiving surface.

The arrangement is shown in detail in FIGURES 7 to 9 where the plates or flaps 18 are shown fixed to short pins 45 which are journalled in a channel-shaped bar 46 and have small toothed pinions 47 fixed on them. Inside the bar 46 are toothed racks 48 and 49 which engage with the pinions and are reciprocated at certain times to rotate the pins 45 and move the flaps from a vertical to a substa'ntially'horizontal position and back again. In addition the racks are operated to provide an oscillating motion to the flaps, the operating devices for both movements being described below.

It will be seen from FIGURE 7 that half the flaps are moved by the rack 48 and the other half by the rack 49 so that the plates at the middle of the bar 46, which are shorter than the others, can swing in opposite directions and meet to close the gap between them. It will also be noticed that the flaps at the extreme ends of the assembly have curved extensions and these two flaps are marked 18A. The extensions are provided to ensure that cigarettes cannot be squeezed by the outer surfaces of the two flaps by being trapped against a fixed part of the apparatus.

The main rack movements are caused by a lever 50 fixed to a vertical rod 51 journalled in bearings and having levers 52 and 53 at its upper end which are actuated by pusher plate movements as described below. The lever 50 is connected to the racks by a pin 54 movable in slots 55 in the rack bars, the pin being housed in an adjustable block 56 fitted on the lever 50. This is necessary because the flaps 18 need to be moved nearer to, or farther from, the edge of the surface 17 according to the length of the cigarettes being handled. This adjust ment is effected by shifting the whole assembly of parts attached to the channel bar 46 so that the block 56 needs to be moved along the lever 50. It will be seen then that if the lever 51 moves so as to move the pin 54 to the right in FIGURE 7, springs 57, which are attached to the rack bars and to fixed parts of the frame, will be stretched. The springs 57 and the lever 50 thus provide the main movement but this is subjected to the influence of a dashpot 58 as will now be described.

The dashpot is fixed to the rack bars as seen in FIG- URE 7 and to its piston rod 59 there is fixed a yoke 62. The dashpot operates by exhaustion, drawing in air through a bleeder valve (not shown) as the piston moves outward in the cylinder. When the rack bars are pulled far enough to the right, FIGURE 7, the yoke meets a bifurcated spring plate 63, which, on continued movement of the bars, presses the piston back again in its cylinder ready for the next dashpot operation which occurs as the rack bars move to the left.

As the rack bars go to the right the flaps 18 close until, due to a snap action associated with the levers 5253 and explained presently, the springs 57 pull the rack bars back sharply until the yoke strikes a forked lever 64, whereupon the piston rod is held against further movement with the rack bars and the continued movement of the bars is slowed considerably by the dashpot action as air slowly passes into the cylinder through the valve.

The operation of the levers 52-53 is caused by a roller 65, FIGURES 7 and 8, which is mounted on the end of a long lever 66 pivoted at 67. The pivot is fixed on the pusher plate device and as this moves forward (that is downward in FIGURE 8) the roller runs onto a concave curve 68 of the lever 53 and pushes it aside so that it swings on a pivot constituted by the rod 51 on which the lever 52 is mounted. In fact the levers 52 and 53 are fixed together as a single piece and are made as two pieces for manufacturing reasons. After the roller 65 has passed the free end 53A of the lever 53, the end catches against a short plate 70 and rides on it for a moment as the roller 65 continues its movement. During all this time the racks are being pulled to the right in FIGURE 7 but as the extremity 53A of the lever 53 passes the rear edge of the plate 70, it snaps inward and the springs 57 are then free to reverse the movement of the rack bars. The lever 66 is controlled by a stiff spring 71 and on the return movement of the roller 65 with the pusher plate the roller rides on the rear surface 72 of the lever 53, stressing the spring in so doing. The lefthand side, FIGURE 8, of the lever 66 has a flat strip fixed to its lower end which rubs against a guide bolted to the frame 1 and steers the lever as it moves with the pusher plate. The forked lever 64 is pivoted at 73 and a slotted lever 74 is connected to it. A link 75 hangs down as shown in FIGURES 7 and 9 and this is connected to part of the mechanism of the cigarette packing machine hopper whereby the link is actuated to cause the forked lever 64 to oscillate. The movement is subject to the control of a spring in said mechanism so that flap movements are spring controlled in both directions. This movement goes on all the time but is not very large and the fork pushes the racks to the right by pressing on the yoke 62 and the return movement is by the springs 57. When the yoke has moved to the right beyond the range of the forked lever 64 the latter oscillates idly. The slots in the rack bars permit them to be moved to and fro in this manner.

The mechanism just described is so timed that the flaps 18 reach the horizontal or stack supporting position just before the end of the pusher plate movement and are horizontal for a while as the cigarettes move onto the receiving surface, whereafter the flaps open to remove the surface from stack supporting position and permit the cigarettes to pass down into the hopper H.

The device shown in FIGURES 10 and 11 is for pulling back empty trays along the upper track 3 from the position where they are left by the pusher plate pawls on its return stroke. It consists of a bridge 74A which spans the rails 3A and 3B constituting the upper track and rides on rollers 75A which run in slotted guides 76 attached to the main frame 1. Pawls 77 at each side of the bridge engage the trays and push them backward along the track 3 as the bridge is reciprocated by a handle 31. As in the case of the bridge for feeding full trays the first pawls 78 are shaped to slide over a tray and catch it on the reverse movement of the bridge. This bridge is also provided with devices to prevent skewing and comprising rack-s 79 fixed to the slotted guides and pinions 811 which are attached to the bridge and roll on the racks.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, the apparatus is driven by a small motor 83 having a gear wheel 84 on its shaft which drives a larger gear wheel 35 on a countershaft 86. This countershaft has sprocket wheels 87 and 88 on it which are connected by chains 89 and 90 to further sprocket wheels 91 and 92 loosely mounted on a lower shaft 93, the elevator driving shaft. The chains pass over jockey and guide sprocket wheels 9 95, 96 and 97, and are so arranged that one chain can drive the shaft 93 one way and the other can drive it the other way when the respective sprocket wheels are coupled to the shaft. Coupling is effected by magnetic clutches 99 and 100 which are energized at the appropriate times by means of switches as described later. A handwheel 101 on the right-hand end of the shaft can be used to rotate the shaft when both clutches are disengaged so that the elevator can be moved up and down by hand when necessary in adjusting or setting up the apparatus. The bevel gear Wheel 9A on the shaft 33 drives another 8 which is fixed to the screw 7 shown broken.

The sprocket wheels 87 and 88 also drive an upper shaft 102 which is the driving device for the loaded tray feeding screw 11. The driving arrangements are generally similar to those for the elevator driving shaft and comprise sprocket wheels 103 and 104 loose on the shaft and magnetic clutches 105 and 1% for coupling them to the shaft as necessary. A handwheel 107 is also provided for manual rotation of the shaft 112 when necessary, when the clutches are free.

Just above the shaft 102 is a further shaft 108 which provides the drive for the pusher plate. This drive is similar in design to the other drives and comprises sprockct wheels 1119 and 1111 with magnetic clutches 111 and 112 and a handwheel 113. The shaft has a pulley 114 on it which is connected by a toothed belt 115 to another pulley 116 which rotates the screw 16 whereby the pusher plate is reciprocated.

The operation of the apparatus will now be described and a description will be given at the same time of switching devices indicated diagrammatically in FIGURE 1, and operating devices for a reversing switch shown on FIGURES 1 and 12.

It will be assumed that a full tray is in position opposite the pusher plate 12. Two light cells 120 and 121 are provided, the lower one 121 detecting the height of cigarettes in the packing machine hopper. When the cigarette level fall-s below the level of the light source directed onto the cell 121 a relay (not shown) is operated to make clutch 112 engage and cause the pusher plate 12 to move forward to remove the stack of cigarettes from the tray.

The stack is pushed out over the surface 17 and as the leading ends of the cigarettes pass a little beyond the near edges of the flaps 18, the flaps, which are then actually moving, reach the horizontal position where they close all the gaps and provide the aforesaid receiving surface; see FIGURES 8A where a cigarette C is shown, though it should be understood that the flaps are almost horizontal when the cigarettes are in the position indicated by C although the flaps are drawn in the vertical position to show their shape. The reason for moving the cigarettes beyond the edges of the flaps before the latter are horizontal is to ensure that there is no flat edge which could obstruct the lowest cigarettes in the stack and injure them. Just as the pusher plate 12 completes its forward stroke the flaps are turned to the vertical position as explained with reference to FIGURES 7 to 9 and the cigarettes pass through the spaces between them and into the hopper H. While the cigarettes are passing, the flaps are slowly oscillated in the manner previously described and this movement helps the cigarettes to move down without bridging or bunching.

The flaps are spring loaded in both directions by the springs 57 and other springs associated with the hopper mechanism so that they can give if necessary to avoid injury to the cigarettes. As the last of the cigarettes pass through the flaps the latter can swing through longer arcs as there is no resistance to their movement by cigarettes passing between them. The continued motion of the flaps helps to spread and level the cigarettes on the upper surface of the mass and a new tray can be brought along and its stack moved onto the flaps to feed more cigarettes, which therefore only fall through a small distance.

When the pusher plate reaches the end of its forward stroke it operates a switch 122 which energizes clutch 166 and causes the tray feed screw 11 to rotate and feed a full tray on to the elevator. The tray feed movement is stopped when a switch 123 is operated by a tray being pushed onto the elevator; that is, switch 123 causes clutch 166 to disengage. If for any reason no tray arrives at the elevator, the switch 123 is not operated and the cigarette level in the hopper will fall until the photocell 1213 is uncovered whereupon a relay (not shown) operates to stop the packing machine and to ring an alarm bell or make some other signal.

When the level of cigarettes from the new tray drops to a height such that the photo-cell 120 is uncovered, a relay (not shown) is operated to energize the clutch 111 and the screw 16 is driven in the opposite direction to return the pusher plate which takes the empty tray with it as previously related.

When the pusher plate reaches the end of its return stroke a switch 124 is actuated to make the clutch 99 engage and drive the screw 7 and cause the elevator to rise and lift a full tray into the discharging position. At the end of the elevator movement it actuates a switch 125 to energize the other clutch 100 and thus the elevator drive is reversed and it returns to its lower position where it operates a further switch 126 to disengage clutch 100.

As mentioned above, the tray feed screw is initially set into motion by the switch 122 but it is further controlled 9 by a reversing switch 127 shown in detail in FIGURE 12.

Referring'now to FIGURE 12, the reversing switch 127 has a roller 128 on it which can be moved in and out by a lever 129 pivoted at 130 and having a forked tail 131 which works in a groove 132 in the screw shaft near the handwheel 107. The screw 11 can move axially to a limited extent, being urged to the left by a strong spring 133and moved in the reverse direction by pressure of the nut against the main frame when the screw has rotated sufficiently to bring the nut to the lefthand end. Pressure of the nut will cause the screw to move to the right and compress the spring and the fork 131 will be moved on its pivot so that the lever 129 swings to the left in FIGURE 12. The movement of lever 129 to the position shown is by an adjustable screw 134 carried by the nut which presses the lever 129 as shown. In this Way the tray feeder will continue to operate, subject to the control by switch 123 as aforesaid, and move to and fro to feed loaded trays as long as cigarettes are demanded by the packing machine and when the level falls below cell 120, the operations just recited repeat.

In the construction described the apparatus is dealing with trays which are of a simple U-shape and therefore such trays when empty can move back past the pusher plate but it will be readily understood that the pusher plate can be arranged to have different motions to accommodate different kinds of trays. For instance, if as is common with wide heavy trays there is a top piece spanning the side walls of the tray, the pusher plate could operate with a swinging movement so as to rise clear of the top of the tray. Where trays are sub-divided the pusher plate may be constructed to move through the various divisions as necessary and the elevator may operate in stages for similar purposes.

An improved apparatus embodying a stack supporting surface constituted by a single flat plate is shown in FIG- URES 14 to 17. FIGURE 16 only shows the right-hand half of the apparatus, which is symmetrical about the line XY, except that operating devices to the right of the part marked 147 are only provided at one side, as shown in the figure.

Referring first to FIGURE 15, which shows the pusher 12 almost at the forward end of the stroke and a cigarette C to indicate the lowest row of a stack, the stack supporting surface is provided by a movable fiat plate 140. Because of the closeness of the view only a fragment of the pusher 12 is shown and a device 164, referred to below, which assists in moving the plate 140, is also shown as a fragment. The pusher 12 and its supporting structure are shown better in FIGURE 17 which also shows how the device 164 is operated. The plate 140 is attached to a lever 141 having a roller 142 which runs in a straight slot 143 in a fixed frame 144 and another roller 145 which runs in a curved slot 146 for-medin a part 147. The part 147 is fixed to an arm 148 of a bell crank lever fixed to a rod 149 which is pivoted in the frame 144. The other arm 150 of the lever carries a flat plate 151. This plate forms a tray guide for trays brought along the lower track and deposited on the elevator, and the plate movements, due to devices described below, cause the plate to exercise a patting action on the cigarettes C in a tray at T1, to give the stack a level surface in case the cigarettes have been disturbed in transit.

Another lever 152 is fixed to the pivot rod 149 and the free end of the lever is connected to an upwardly directed link 153, shown broken to reduce the height of the figure. The upper end of the link is attached at 154 to a lever 155 pivoted at 156 in a bracket constituting part of the frame 1 of the apparatus. The free end of this lever has a cam roller 157 on it which is engaged by a plate cam or tongue 158 fixed toa part marked 212 which is part of the structure which carries the pusher 12. As

shown, the plate is in the stack receiving position and the stack has been pushed onto it by the pusher but the transfer starts taking place much farther to the right where a fragment of the tray marked T is shown. As will appear later, the plate 140 is held in a horizontal position at the time of transfer and moves forward from the chain line position at the right-hand side of FIGURE 15, to the full line position as the pusher moves forward and transfers the cigarettes from tray to plate.

The plate is moved to the full line position by a curved push block 164 and at a given time this block is tripped to move out of contact with the stack supporting plate. During the forward movement the plate 140 has swung a lever 159 pivoted at 160, thus stretching a spring 161. The lever movement is caused by a roller 162 at the upper end of the lever which runs in jaws 163 fixed to the plate 140. The lever 159 has a spring buffer 159A on it and when the curved push block 164 is tripped, as above remarked, the lever 159 springs back under the tension of spring 161 and draws back the plate 140 to the position where it is indicated in thick dashes and tilted. The buffer strikes rod 149 and stops the movement. The tilting movement is caused in the following way. During the backward movement of the plate 140 it moves for a major part of the distance horizontally, thus continuing to support the stack, but as the roller rapidly runs down the curved part of the cam slot 146 the plate is sharply tilted so that its left-hand end dips and, support being withdrawn from the stack, the cigarettes pass down into the hopper H without hinderance by the plate 140. The pusher 12 then starts to move back to the right and carries away the emptied tray T in the manner previously described with respect to FIG- URES l to 13 and as the cam 158 goes back, the link 153 slowly rises under the pull of a spring 176, FIGURE 16, until the lever 152 is stopped from further upward movement as a screw 177 meets a stop 178 on the machine frame. By this time the curved slot 146 has reached such a position that the plate 140 is again horizontal (as shown in chain lines) and ready to receive a further batch from another tray as the pusher makes its next forward stroke. This tray is raised from the position T.1. by the elevator, as described with reference to FIGURES 1 to 13, being guided by the plate 151 as the latter comes again to a vertical position. Referring now to FIGURE 17, the curved push block 164 is pivoted at 165 on a bracket 166 which is fixed to the pusher plate structure 212 and has brushes 166A which sweep the bottom of a tray as it is emptied by the pusher plate 12. A lever 167 is fixed to the block 164 and pivoted to a substantially vertical link 168 and a spring 169 tends to pull the link downward. The top of the link has a roller 170 which rides on a cam plate 171 as the pusher moves forward. Another link 172 helps to support and control the link 168. The cam plate is pivoted at 173 and there is a slot 174 in it down which the roller can drop when the push block 164 has pushed the stack supporting plate 140 to its final position. As the roller 170 drops through the slot 174 the curved push block 164 is cocked up to the chain line position by the fall of link 168 and the plate 140 is therefore released and rapidly snaps back to its rear position in the manner explained above. A stop 172A checks the downward movement. The cam pivot 173 is held in a bridge 175 which extends across the frames 1 of the apparatus. After the roller 170 has dropped through the slot 174 it runs along the bridge 175 on the return movement of the pusher 12, lifting the cam plate 171 to pass beyond its right-hand end.

The roller 170 is adjustable on the link 168 in order to enable the position of the push block 164 to be set to the required height.

As a batch has the support plate 140 withdrawn from it, as above described, it passes downward into the hopper as the latter has cigarettes removed from its base and a movable plate 179 pivoted at 180 is oscillated by a link 

1. APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING CIGARETTES TO THE HOPPER OF A CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINE COMPRISING A LOWER TRACK ALONG WHICH LOADED TRAYS ARE MOVABLE ON A LINE PARALLEL TO THE AXES OF THE CIGARETTES IN THE TRAY AND MEANS FOR MOVING THE TRAYS IN SUCCESSION ALONG THE TRACK, AN ELEVATOR AT THE END OF THE TRACK POSITIONED TO RECEIVE AND SUPPORT A TRAY FROM THE TRACK AND SAID MEANS ALSO OPERATING TO MOVE THE LEADING TRAY FROM THE TRACK TO THE ELEVATOR, OPERATING DEVICES TO MOVE THE ELEVATOR UP AND DOWN, SAID DEVICES OPERATING FIRST TO RAISE SAID LEADING TRAY AND DELIVER IT TO MEANS ARRANGED TO SUPPORT THE TRAY AT A CIGARETTE DISCHARGING POSITION, WHEREAFTER THE ELEVATOR OPERATING DEVICES MOVE THE ELEVATOR DOWN TO THE TRAY RECEIVING POSITION, A PUSHER PLATE AND OPERATING DEVICES THEREFOR TO MOVE THE PLATE THROUGH THE TRAY TO REMOVE A STACK OF CIGARETTES THEREFROM, A RECEIVING SURFACE TO RECEIVE THE STACK AS IT IS REMOVED FROM THE TRAY BY THE PUSHER PLATE AND MEANS FOR POSITIONING SAID SURFACE TO LIE ABOVE THE HOPPER IN ALIGNMENT THEREWITH AND THEREAFTER TO REMOVE SAID SURFACE FROM STACK SUPPORTING POSITION TO PERMIT THE STACK TO PASS INTO THE HOPPER AND MEANS FOR MOVING THE EMPTY TRAY AWAY FROM THE STACK REMOVING POSITION. 